


and the stars nestled in your chest

by Brilliant_But_Scary_Bad_Wolf



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Modern AU, cassian too, idk what i'm doing but there will be pain, jyn needs a hug, maybe they'll help each other out . . ., mild violence, road trip au, tags and ratings may be changed/added later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-28 07:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10826280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brilliant_But_Scary_Bad_Wolf/pseuds/Brilliant_But_Scary_Bad_Wolf
Summary: "Still, she doesn’t intend to make things easy on him.  If Cassian Andor wants to dredge up the dark memories she’s buried under layers of ice and long-labored apathy, he’s going to have to do all the legwork."Written for the Rebelcaptain Network May 4th gift exchange on tumblr! A modern, road trip au that I promise will indeed include actual road-tripping very soon.





	and the stars nestled in your chest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lannisterslioness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannisterslioness/gifts).



> This work is for the very lovely senatorrorgana on tumblr, who asked for a modern road trip au. I feel like I should apologize, because originally I signed up for the exchange with the intention of writing a lengthy oneshot, but your prompt gave me TOO MANY IDEAS AND FEELINGS and then the dreaded plot attacked me, and now here I am, planning and researching and writing a multi-chapter modern au. I swear they'll be in an actual vehicle next chapter xoxox.
> 
> Anywaays, sorry it's not complete, but I hope you like the way I decided to go with your prompt! There's a lot . . .
> 
> (Title is stolen from this lovely poem by insurqent on tumblr: http://insurqent.co.vu/post/153698679050/you-know-i-was-once-taught-no-one-will-bless )

“Erso, you have a visitor.”

It’s just about the last thing she expects to hear, when she sees the corrections officer heading her way. Her public attorney had dropped her as soon as she’d entered her plea, and her sentencing isn’t schedule for a couple of months still. And there is no one else. Jyn prefers it that way. Or at least, she has since she was sixteen. Better to keep her head down, better not to draw attention to herself, or make friends who are more than likely to just screw her over in the end. It’s what they always do, and if there’s one good thing about being in prison, it’s that it becomes a lot easier. Nobody expects to make real friends, in here, and thankfully, the other prisoners have mostly left her alone.

Well, they had until yesterday. Her cellmate of a couple weeks, a woman who called herself Nail, had apparently decided she didn’t want to share a cell with Jyn anymore. And the COs who’d responded evidently didn’t believe that she had the right to fight back. Which means that she is even more screwed for sentencing than she’d already been (very screwed, considering she’s been classified as a violent repeat offender and a flight risk, with only an overworked and underpaid public defender as representation).

It also means relocation to a more restrictive cell, and even less freedom of movement. Leaving Jyn pretty much resigned to her misery. She’s not been let out of her new cell since they’d brought her here; meals delivered to her. Her only balms now are the tall, thin window in the wall, looking out over the city from some twenty or so floors up, and the small, silver crucifix that hangs from a chain underneath or prison uniform, resting just over her breastbone.

It’s chilly against her skin, but it’s a comfort nonetheless, and really, the only personal item she cared about. She’d had to fight to bring it in to the facility. She’d had to lie. Say she was religious when she wasn’t, not really. She’s just reaching for the pendant when the guard calls to her through the bars, taking her by surprise. Her visiting privileges have been temporarily revoked, and anyways, who would visit her? Despite the confusion, she’s glad for any chance to move around.

She’s cuffed and led from the cell. The guard is taking her to one of the private rooms, she realizes, so perhaps her lawyer _has_ come to see her. Unexpected. The woman certainly hadn’t given Jyn any indication that she’d be seeing her again until much closer to sentencing. As it is, Jyn’s more than a little guarded when the officer removes her cuffs, and ushers her into one of the small rooms. It’s not her lawyer.

The man sitting at the table is entirely unfamiliar to her, but when she turns to ask the CO what’s going on, the door is already shutting behind her.

“Ms. Erso?” the man calls, and she turns to look at him. He’s young, or relatively so, given his suit and tie and well-groomed look. Only a few years older than herself, with dark hair, and a piercing gaze that only serves to make her feel more guarded. “My name is Cassian Andor, I’m with the Department of Homeland Security. If you would please sit?”

She shrugs and her face remains stoic as she does so, though all she really wants to do is run the other way. None of her aliases have been involved in anything big enough for Homeland Security to care about. Neither has Jyn Erso, recently. Which means whatever this man is here about is either based on incorrect information, or he’s not here about anything recent, and from the way he’s looking at her, taking her measure, she’s pretty sure it’s not the former. Shit.

Still, she doesn’t intend to make things easy on him. If Cassian Andor wants to dredge up the dark memories she’s buried under layers of ice and long-labored apathy, he’s going to have to do all the legwork.

“What does the Department of Homeland Security want with a petty criminal?”

“Petty theft, possession of a fraudulent ID, violation of parole, forgery, resisting arrest, aggravated battery, and felony tax evasion. You’re facing the possibility of a lot of time in federal prisons, and given both your history and recent incidents, you’re not likely to receive a lot of leniency during sentencing. I’m offering to help.”

She laughs instinctively, but he doesn’t react; remains completely stoic. “Unless you’re offering to make sure I get a nice new judge for sentencing who _cares_ about the disenfranchised and might just read my file and decide me pitiable, I’m not sure what it is you think you can do for me.”

“I believe you’re familiar with the terrorist organization calling itself the Empire? We’ve received reports of a defector, claiming knowledge of planned attacks, and a devastating new kind of chemical weapon, capable of killing millions n minutes if airborne. The defector is reportedly now in the company of Saw Gerrera.”

That gets her attention.

Jyn’s eyes dart up to meet his. “I haven’t seen Saw in years. I don’t know where he is.”

“We know where Gerrera is. That’s not why I’m here.”

Jyn frowns and raises her eyebrows, “so what, I tell you everything I know about him and you promise me a chance at parole?”

Evidently he doesn’t appreciate her tone, because he remains straight-faced, and for several long, unbearable seconds, he says nothing. His gaze upon her makes her want to squirm, and she feels some relief when he opens his mouth to speak again.

“When was the last time you had contact with Galen Erso?”

The relief dissipates promptly.

Where the mention of Saw’s name had caused her heart to skip a beat, the mention of her father causes it to seize, her chest tightening and her breath catching in her throat. What does Homeland Security want with Galen Erso? She knows her flinch was visible, but she forces herself not to look away from him, not to reveal more weakness than she already has. “Eighteen years ago,” she answers, her voice tight, “what does this have to do with him?” It isn’t a question she’s sure she wants answered, but it’s much harder to avoid dealing with the nightmares now that Cassian has dragged them out into the light of day, breaking through walls she’s been building and reinforcing since she was eight years old.

“The defector says he was sent by your father. It appears he’s been central to the development of this weapon.”

He keeps talking, but Jyn hears none of it, the soft, continuous buzz of the ceiling light intensifying to a roar in her ears as her fingers grip the edges of the table before her hard enough to turn the tips white. She sees spots. Her father is alive. He’s alive, and if Cassian Andor is telling her the truth, he’s engineered a chemical weapon more dangerous than any before it. Galen Erso is not her father.

Cassian’s voice breaks through disassociation; “we’re hoping that with your history with Saw, he’d be willing to meet with you. We’re hoping you can convince him to give us access to the defector, so he can lead us to your father, and the weapon.”

Doubtful, given that _Saw had_ _left her_ , but Jyn feels no desire to share that information, unless she thinks it would be of some benefit to her. “If I help you?” She’s not sure if her desire to confront Saw, to confront her _father_ and to get answers or some kind of explanation; _an apology_ , is stronger than her desire to avoid thinking about anyone she’s cared about ever again, but Cassian’s story had been horrifying, and if there’s a chance of decreasing her sentence out of this, it’s at least worth hearing what he’s willing to offer.

“I’ll have your sentence decreased to time served.”


End file.
